The Wichita Wind Surge are a Minor League Baseball team of the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

and the Double-A affiliate of the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

. They are located in Wichita,

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

, and began play in 2021 at Riverfront Stadium. The Wind Surge were supposed to begin play in 2020 as the Triple-A affiliate of the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

in the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

. However, a combination of the cancellation of the 2020 season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

and

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

's realignment of the minor leagues for 2021, resulted in the team dropping down to Double-A as affiliates of the Twins without having played a Triple-A game.

History

Prior to 2020, the Wind Surge had been located in

Metairie, Louisiana Metairie ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States, and is part of the New Orleans metropolitan area. With a population of 143,507 in 2020, Metairie is the largest community in Jefferson Parish and was (a ...

, playing as the

New Orleans Baby Cakes The New Orleans Baby Cakes (formerly the New Orleans Zephyrs) were a Minor League Baseball team in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They were located in Metairie, Louisiana, a sub ...

. The team had been there since 1993 when the

Denver Zephyrs The Denver Zephyrs (formerly the Denver Bears) were a Minor League Baseball team based in Denver, Colorado, United States. They were a Triple-A team that played in the American Association from 1955 to 1962, the Pacific Coast League from 1963 to ...

had been forced to move due to the creation of the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

expansion franchise in

. The team's history is traced back to 1888, with the founding of the Kansas City Blues. In September 2018, the city of Wichita paid US$2.2 million to the

Wichita Wingnuts The Wichita Wingnuts were an independent baseball team based in Wichita, Kansas, in the United States. The Wingnuts were members of the South Division of the American Association of Professional Baseball. An expansion franchise in the 2008 seas ...

to break their lease at Lawrence–Dumont Stadium, with plans to demolish it and build a larger ballpark to host an affiliated Minor League Baseball team. The city later announced that a new $75 million stadium would be built to host the Triple-A New Orleans Baby Cakes, who agreed to relocate to Wichita beginning with the 2020 season. The club announced its nickname, Wind Surge, in November 2019. The name was met with criticism from Wichita residents following the announcement. Later in the day the name was announced, a

Change.org Change.org is a worldwide nonprofit petition website, based in California, US, operated by the San Francisco-based company of the same name, which has over 400 million users and offers the public the ability to promote the petitions they care abo ...

petition was started to change the name. In less than 24 hours, the petition had already collected over 7,400 signatures. Prior to the

, the Wind Surge were scheduled to begin their inaugural season on the road playing against the

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named ...

on April 8, 2020, and to play their first home game on April 14 against the

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbir ...

. Initially postponed due to the pandemic, the season was ultimately cancelled on June 30. Owner Lou Schwechheimer died from complications from COVID on July 29, 2020. In 2021, the team dropped to the Double-A classification without having played a Triple-A game due to

's realignment of the minor leagues after the 2020 season. Instead of being a

affiliate, the Wind Surge became affiliated with the

. They were placed in the Double-A Central. Wichita began competition in the new league on May 4 with a 2–0 victory over the Springfield Cardinals at

Hammons Field Hammons Field is a minor league baseball stadium located in Springfield, Missouri, with a capacity of 7,986 plus approximately 2,500 general admission seating. The facility, funded entirely by local businessman, hotel mogul and benefactor John Q. ...

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estimat ...

. The Wind Surge won the Northern Division title by finishing the 2021 season in first place with a 69–51 record. They qualified for the championship playoffs by possessing the league's best record. In the best-of-five series, they were defeated by the second-place

Northwest Arkansas Naturals The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springdale, Arkansas, Springdale, Arkansas. The team is a member of the Texas League, and serves as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The ...

, 3–2. Wichita manager Ramon Borrego was selected as the league's

Manager of the Year Manager of the Year may refer to: * Major League Baseball Manager of the Year Award * League Managers Association Manager of the Year * Premier League Manager of the Season The Premier League Manager of the Season is an annual association footba ...

. In 2022, the Double-A Central became known as the Texas League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization.

Roster

References

External links

Official website
{{Kansas Sports 2020 establishments in Kansas Baseball teams established in 2020 Defunct Pacific Coast League teams Miami Marlins minor league affiliates Minnesota Twins minor league affiliates Sports in Wichita, Kansas Texas League teams